People & Profit

Political leaders, tech executives, scientists and experts are gathering to Paris to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. Summit host France dreams of becoming a leader in the disruptive technology. Back in 2018, President Emmanuel Macron launched a national strategy to mobilize €2.5 billion in public and private funds to develop homegrown applications. But competition is fierce, and the US and China have a particularly strong lead over European firms. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin talks to France's special envoy for the AI Action Summit, Anne Bouverot. In addition to being mandated with organising this event, she also presides over France's commission on artificial intelligence and has had a long career as a tech executive and researcher.

In this special edition from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Charles Pellegrin sits down with Nigeria's Industry, Trade and Investment⁣ Minister Jumoke Oduwole. They discuss the return of Donald Trump as US president and how his policies might impact the oil-rich African country, as well as the challenges of diversifying the economy and attracting investors. Following a change in administration in May 2023, Nigeria has been pursuing bold economic reforms but inflation still remains high. Will 2025 will bring the "renewed hope" promised by Bola Tinubu's administration? 

This week we're in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, where global leaders from the world of politics, business and academia get together and assess the obstacles facing the global economy in the upcoming year. This year, all eyes are on US President Donald Trump. How will his policies impact the world in 2025?  Charles Pellegrin talks to Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer, who publishes a global risk report each year. 

Another buzzword in Davos this year is AI. Progress in artificial intelligence is advancing at a rapid pace, but regulators are struggling to keep up and opting for a lighter touch – thereby leaving the risks and collateral damage of AI unchecked. Meanwhile, international cooperation on the topic appears to be faltering.

For more on this topic we speak to Eric Xing, who is president of the world's only AI-focused university, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi and co-founder of GenBio AI, a biotech company that has succeeded in developing the first phase of the world's first AI digital organism.

In the middle of Dry January, many people are trying to keep the festive cheer alive, all while staying sober. No- and low-alcoholic beverages are increasingly popular and the industry's biggest players are scrambling to find ways to profit from the trend. But how long will the buzz last? In this edition of People & Profit, FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin talks to two entrepreneurs from the sector. Jonathan Dubois is the founder of Goxoa, a French zero-alcohol beer brand specifically marketed towards athletes and the winner of the gold medal for the best non-alcoholic beer at the European Beer Challenge. Also joining us is Paul Mathew, the founder of Everleaf Drinks, a British company that produces sustainably sourced non-alcoholic aperitifs. 

The re-election of Donald Trump as US president has generated a climate of uncertainty over US economic policy for 2025, with Trump and his team vowing to increase tariffs on most imported goods. How will Trump's return impact the global economy? From the United States to China by way of Europe, we take a comprehensive look at what global trade, growth and innovation are likely to look like and what all of that could mean for the climate. Our guest is Raphaël Gallardo, chief economist at Carmignac. 

The mining industry plays a key role in the world’s energy transition, providing the critical minerals and metals needed for new, green technology. It’s also facing pressure to reduce its own carbon footprint, and protect the communities affected by its mining activity around the world. Mike Henry, chief executive officer of BHP, says the world’s largest mining company is on the frontline of those changes, increasing output while focusing on sustainability. “It’s fundamental to the BHP strategy (…) The world needs a lot more of other metals and minerals as well. If we’re to do that in a way that doesn’t have negative consequences for other aspects of environmental stewardship, we have to be setting and upholding high standards.”

Global demand for copper – a key element in green technology – is set to soar 70 percent over the coming decades, but Henry says the mining industry can keep up. "I’m confident that there is enough copper units in the Earth's crust. The question is will there be enough investment brought to bear on developing new deposits quickly enough?"

Both the EU and US are seeking to break up China's dominance in the production of many critical metals and minerals, and secure independent sources of their own. Henry says "we are seeing a resurgence in industrial policy and trade protectionism globally, and there’s been a significant increase over the past three to five years in critical minerals supply chain security, driven in some instances by geostrategic competition."

Henry also defended a huge settlement linked to the 2015 collapse of the Mariana dam in Brazil, which leaked toxic waste into nearby communities in one of the country's worst-ever environmental disasters. "BHP made a very strong commitment, immediately post that dam disaster, that we would stand behind ensuring that there was resettlement of people, environmental remediation, and compensation paid out to people impacted by the dam disaster (…) Our position on the UK case is that there are mechanisms in place for compensation to be secured in Brazil and that’s the proper avenue."

Produced by F. Boucherak, M. Cousinet and A. Dowdeswell

Artificial intelligence could transform the future of sound. The market for generative AI in the music industry is taking off, with both huge opportunities and substantial risks for creative professions. A study by Goldmedia consulting and research group found that music creators could lose up to 27 percent of their revenue by 2028 as a direct result. Klaus Goldhammer, Managing Director of Goldmedia, says artists are calling for regulations to protect their jobs. 

“There is a huge demand from authors and composers for consent, for a licensing scheme, for fair remuneration”, Goldhammer said, adding that nearly a third of authors and composers “already use AI models for their musical and creative work. This shows that creative people are open to AI models (…) But at the same time, they are in fear of losing their livelihoods to AI models, and this is a profound problem”.  

Goldhammer says there’s no turning back the AI music wave. “I think we are in the midst of a very profound revolution, which is AI, and it’s not over yet. My idea of a big revolution to come is when an AI-generated artist will have an AI-generated song becoming the number one hit in the world!” 

Also, AI isn’t the only phenomenon transforming the music industry. In 2024, would-be concert goers were taken aback by soaring ticket prices for hot acts like Oasis, as the live music circuit embraced the dynamic pricing model. 

The world produces some 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. About half of all plastic is designed to be single use, that is, thrown away after being used just once. Hopes for a global treaty to tackle plastic production and waste faded at the start of December, when UN-backed talks failed to reach an agreement on curbing plastic pollution. A lot of global efforts to tackle plastic waste is focused on recycling – a solution our guest disagrees with. Rosalie Mann, founder and CEO of the No More Plastic Foundation tells us why.

The cocoa industry in Haiti is one of the few bright spots in an economy that's suffocating amid gang violence and political instability. Exports of fermented cocoa to Europe are having a significant impact for small Haitian producers, and helping to create jobs. Carys Garland reports from the Paris Chocolate Show. Also in the show: we speak to Tony's Chocolonely, a chocolate company that has pioneered efforts to expose exploitation and child labour in the cocoa industry.

Joke Aerts, Director of Credible Sourcing at Tony's Open Chain, says that 20 years into its mission to change the industry, the Dutch firm is being joined by competitors. "We pull competitors in and collaborate in our sourcing of cocoa (…) this better way of doing business has to become the norm."

Some 60 percent of the world’s cocoa is grown in Ghana and Ivory Coast, where child labour is rampant. Aerts says Tony’s Chocolonely "specifically chose to work where the issues that we're fighting are the most egregious. So there's about 1.56 million children in child labour in West Africa alone (…) that’s why we are focused on West Africa alone in our cocoa sourcing."

Most cocoa farmers haven't benefited from a spike in cocoa prices on global markets this year, but Aerts says that paying more for supplies is crucial to tackling the problem. "No matter what the cocoa prices are doing, Tony's Chocolonely and its mission allies (…) always commit to topping up to that living income reference price. We know that farmers need to earn more money per kilogram of cocoa in order to lift themselves out of poverty and send their children to school."

It's been just over a year since Argentina elected Javier Milei as president. The political outsider had brandished a chainsaw as a symbol of his plans to cut government spending. So is Milei's "shock therapy" working? FRANCE 24's Kate Moody speaks to Juan Ignacio Carranza of Aurora Macro Strategies in Buenos Aires.